Bill's Little Fighter
by tamara72
Summary: Second in my next generation story. Bill and Fleur are visiting the Delacors in France when one of their children becomes very ill.
1. Chapter 1

The characters of the Harry Potter universe belong to Ms. Rowlings, and I'm borrowing them for my own imagination.

Bill's Little Fighter - Part 1

Fleur sat in her parents sitting room talking quietly with her sister, Gabrielle. Her parents, Bill and four-year-old Victoire had gone out to tour some of the Paris sights, while she and Gabrielle had opted to stay at home with two and a half-year-old Dominique. This was the third day that Dominique had not felt well. At first Fleur had agreed with Bill's notion that Dominique was just drained from the travel from London to Paris, but now she was starting to get worried.

Fleur looked over to where Dominique was sleeping in the nearby settee. For the last couple of days Dominique had been fussy and overly tired then this morning when dressing Dominique for the day, she had found bruises in various spots on her very pale skin.

"Je crois que vous êtes corrects. Vous devriez prendre un rendez-vous avec un docteur." Gabrielle said. (I think you're correct. You should make an appointment with a doctor.)

"Mais, Bill croit que c'est juste un froid simple. Et si je ne m'inquiète pour rien?" Fleur responded. (But, Bill believes it is just a simple cold. What if I am fretting for nothing?)

"N'est-ce pas mieux être sûr que désolé ? Je suis sûr que nous pouvons la recevoir dans voir le Docteur Jacques et savoir à coup sûr avant que Bill rentre ici." Gabrielle responded. (Isn't it better to be safe than sorry? I am sure we can get her in to see Doctor Jacques and know for sure before Bill gets back here.)

"Vous avez raison. J'appellerai le docteur maintenant." Fleur responded rising and heading toward the Floo. (You're right. I'll call the doctor now.)

When Bill returned several hours later with his in-laws and a very tired Victoire, a distraught Gabrielle was pacing the living room waiting for them.

"Where's Fleur?" Bill asked concerned by the sight of Gabrielle.

"Fleur a été concernée par Dominique étant si fatigué, donc nous avons décidé de la prendre pour voir le Docteur Jacques pour exclure n'importe quoi de sérieux. Et c'est sérieux. Le docteur a admis Dominique l'hôpital. Fleur est là avec elle et très effrayée." Gabrielle rushed in saying tears streaming down her face.

"English, Gabrielle." Bill said becoming even more concerned.

Gabrielle wiped her eyes and took a breath. "We took Dominique to see Doctor Jacques. Now, Dominique is in the l'hôpital. It is très sérieux."

"I will stay wiz Victoire, zee rest of 'ou go to l'hôpital." Fleur's mother said lifting Victoire out of her father's arms.

"Thank you." Bill said as he purposely followed Gabrielle and his father-in-law out to the apparition point.

When they arrived at the hospital, Bill let his father-in-law do all the talking. He just followed, hoping he would understand a word here or there. The nurse led them to the children's ward, where he found Fleur sitting by a crib containing their baby daughter. Bill felt pain as he saw several wires hooked up to monitors and to his daughter.

"Fleur." He said quietly, not wanting to disturb his sleeping baby.

"Oh, Bill." Fleur cried as she rose from her chair and launched herself at him.

"What did the doctor say is wrong with her?" He asked.

"Aplastic anemia, he zinks." Fleur said.

"What is it?" Bill asked.

"It is due to raison - failure of the l'échec de la moelle osseuse to make cellules de sang - blood cellules, en incluant rouge et des leucocytes aussi bien que des plaquettes. I don't know 'ow to translate. I don't 'ave enough words." Fleur cried frustrated. Bill just hugged her. He knew that her father and Gabrielle would not be of any more help, as their English was far worse than Fleur's. "I want Audrey." Fleur cried.

"Yes, Audrey can explain this to us." Bill agreed. He was relieved to have a Healer in the family. "I will see if I can get a hold of Percy or Audrey." Bill said.

"Gabrielle, go wiz 'im to 'elp translate." Fleur said as Bill bent over the crib to kiss his daughter's forehead.

A half an hour later, with the help of the Harry Potter card, Bill was able to floo directly to Percy's office at the ministry.

"Percy!" Bill yelled out causing his brother to jump from his seat.

"Bloody hell, Bill! You are going to give me a heart attack" Percy said kneeling down in front of the floo. "What's going on?"

"I don't have time to chit chat. Dominique is very sick, and we would like Audrey to come to Paris as soon as possible. Try as she might, Fleur is so upset and is not completely understanding what is wrong to be able to translate it properly. Can you pull some strings, and get her here today?" Bill pleaded. "I don't want to worry Mum and Dad until we know what is wrong."

"Yes. I will take care of everything. I will come with her, we can leave the kids with Kingsley, as I will need him to approve the emergency port keys." Percy replied. He took the information for the hospital as Bill gave it to him. "We will be there soon, Bill. Don't worry."

"Thanks." Bill said bidding his brother good bye.

Half an hour later, Percy and Audrey were bidding their own daughters goodbye in Kingsley's office.

"Be good for grandpa." Percy said as he hugged two-year-old Lucy.

"Help grandpa watch out for your little sister." Audrey told eight-year-old Molly.

"I will. How long will you be gone?" Molly asked as she turned to hug her dad.

"We don't know. We will floo you tomorrow to let you know. Okay?" Percy asked.

"Yeah." Molly said smiling confidently at him.

"Don't let grandpa spoil you too much." Audrey told Lucy who giggled, then looked up sweetly to her grandfather.

"I'm sure that won't be a problem." Kingsley lied. He loved spoiling his granddaughters.

"It's time to go." Percy said taking a hold of the ink pen that was their port key. Audrey took a hold of her husband's free hand then grabbed a hold of the port key.

When they arrived at the hospital they quickly located the children's ward. Bill and Fleur were standing outside the ward talking to the doctor.

"Bill, how is she?" Percy asked.

"That's what I am trying to understand." Bill said frustrated. He had been working to learn French over the last few years of their marriage, but he was far from fluent in the language.

"Doctor Jacques, c'est mon frère, Percy et sa femme, Healer Audrey Weasley." Bill introduced.

"Bonjour." Percy said.

"Bonjour." Doctor Jacques responded shaking his hand.

"Ma femme est un docteur à la Rue. Mungos à Londres. Comme vous pouvez avoir compris, mon frère a le problème en comprenant la maladie de Dominique. Si vous pourriez permettre à ma femme de voir les résultats d'essai, elle peut être en mesure de vous aider à l'expliquer tant à lui qu'à Fleur." (My wife is a doctor at St. Mungos in London. As you may have understood, my brother is having trouble understanding Dominique's illness. If you could let my wife see the test results, she may be able to help you explain it to both he and Fleur.) Percy requested.

"Yes, zat 'ould be very good." Doctor Jacques agreed handing over the results to Audrey. "Zee diagnosis es aplastic amenia. Zat is correct words."

"Yes. Yes it is." Audrey murmured looking over the chart.

"What is aplastic amenia?" Bill asked.

"Anemia occurs due to the failure of the bone marrow to produce blood cells, including red and white blood cells as well as platelet." Audrey responded.

"What caused it?" Bill asked.

"Aplastic anemia frequently occurs without a known cause." Audrey responded. "It looks as if she has a fairly severe case. Doctor Jacques is recommending that we start with a blood transfusion, but what she needs is a bone marrow transplant. We will need to check family members for a match." Audrey said then looked a little unsure as to what she was about to say next.

"Go ahead." Bill said wanting to know what she was holding back.

"While any match would be good, the best chance of the best outcome is if a sibling is the match." Audrey said.

"Victoire." Fleur gasped.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

The characters of the Harry Potter universe belong to Ms. Rowlings, and I'm borrowing them for my own imagination.

Bill's Little Fighter - part 2

Bill sat in the children's ward next to his daughter's crib watching her sleep. The last few days had been very stressful for everyone. He looked over to see Fleur curled up on the cot the hospital had provided for them. After a struggle, Bill had convinced Fleur to lie down. She dropped off from sheer exhaustion the minute her head hit the pillow.

Two days ago, once they had an understanding of Dominique's illness and how to help her, Percy started organizing everything. While Doctor Jacques made arrangements to have all the family in Paris tested, Percy had spent a good part of the day flooing all over England sending their family and friends to St. Mungos to be tested.

When his family started arriving in Paris yesterday, Percy organized them, keeping them out of Bill and Fleur's hair as much as possible. They had been extremely grateful when Percy had told them that Kingsley and Hermione had contacted all their friends in the Order and the DA to be tested as well as organized a bone marrow drive in the wizarding community. They were hopeful that even if Victoire was not a match, that they still had a good chance of finding a match. They would find out Victoire's results sometime today.

Audrey, who had continued to work at Doctor Jacques side, told them that the doctors and nurses had commented countless times on how well Dominique was handling all the testing and transfusions. Audrey said that she was very brave and a real fighter and that was good.

"A Gryffindor." Fleur pronounced. He couldn't help but grin at the compliment even though she was so little and he hated that she was literally fighting for her life.

"Bill, Fleur?" They heard Audrey's tentative voice as she entered the room. He heard Fleur jolt awake.

"Are the results in?" Bill asked as moved to help Fleur off the cot.

"Yes, Doctor Jacques is on his way with them. The family is gathered outside." Audrey said.

Fleur clutched his hand. They both checked to see that Dominique was still sleeping. Fleur ran her fingers through her baby's strawberry blonde hair before following Audrey out into the hall.

"Maman!" Victoire called. "Daddy!" She was reaching out from her grandpa Weasley's arms. Bill took his daughter into his arms. Fleur kissed her cheek.

Audrey walked to Percy's side. Little Molly was holding her father's hand, while Lucy was settled against his hip. Audrey reached up and brushed Lucy's dark bangs out of her eyes.

Bill looked around to see most of his family standing crowded together in the hall. The only ones missing were Fred and Angelina's six month old twins, who had been left with Angelina's parents, and Ginny and Harry. Ginny was due to give birth to their first child any day now and was not permitted to travel. He was sure she was driving Harry crazy over not being able to be here with the rest of the family. Percy had told him that Ron and Hermione were owling them with as much updates as possible.

"I missed you." Victoire said leaning her head on her father's shoulder.

"I know sweetheart. We miss you, too. We explained to you that Dominique was sick, and we had to stay here to help her." Bill said. He felt a little guilty knowing that she did not complete understand everything that was going on. Fleur's parents had brought Victoire to the hospital at meal times, so that she could eat with her parents while her grandparents stayed with Dominique. He knew that it wasn't enough, but getting Dominique better had become their priority.

"I stay to help." Victoire announced decidedly.

"We'll see about zat." Fleur responded tucking some of Victoire's long blonde hair behind her ear.

"Bonjour. I am glad 'ou are all 'ere." Doctor Jacques said as he approached the family.

"Do we have a match?" Bill's mother asked worriedly.

"Oiu, we do. We double checked zee results to be sure." He responded.

"Was it Victoire?" Bill asked holding her a little tighter.

"No, unfortunately. I told you zee best odds 'ould be if 'er sister was zee match. Zere is still a good chance wiz ozer donor. Zere was a match from zee family members tested in London." Doctor Jacques informed them.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"A Lucy Weasley." Doctor Jacques read.

They all turned to look at Percy, Audrey and Lucy. Percy and Audrey exchanged a quick glance, then Percy turned to Doctor Jacques and said, "That is our youngest daughter. What do we need to do to get his started?" He felt his oldest daughter lean a little closer to him. Her hand tightening in his. He knew that Kinglsey had explained the basics to Molly when she was being tested, so now she was likely worried not only for her cousin, but her baby sister as well.

"You don't want to discuss it?" Bill asked at his brother's quick response.

"We wouldn't have had the children tested if we weren't willing to do this." Audrey answered them then turned her attention to Lucy. "You want to help Dominique get better don't you sweetheart."

"Uh huh!" Lucy responded nodding her head against her father's shoulder. They knew their shy little girl felt slightly nervous as all the attention was directed toward her.

"Audrey explained everything to me. They will extract the bone marrow from Lucy similar to Muggle methods, but she won't be in any pain. The risk to her is minimal. She will be up and about a couple days after the surgery." Percy said.

"It will then be up to Dominique. As you know, they will kill her bone marrow with magic, it is a fairly simple and quick procedure. Then they will inject Lucy's into Dominique. She will be on a potion that will allow the bone marrow to take hold and increase in her system at a quick rate. We just have to hope her body accepts Lucy's bone marrow." Audrey finished.

"She's a little fighter, of course it will work." Charlie said.

Fleur flew at Audrey and Percy hugging them and kissing Lucy's cheek.

"Let us go and check Lucy. If everzing is okay, we can do zee procedure tomorrow." Doctor Jacques said.

"Thank you." Bill said as he hugged Audrey, Percy and Lucy.

The trio followed the doctor, leaving Molly in Ron's care.

"I see Dominique now." Victoire ordered.

"Yeah, you can see Dominique now." Bill said as he carried her with Fleur's hand in his they headed back to their baby girl.

The next morning the family was sitting in the waiting area outside of the surgical ward. Bill and Fleur were in with Dominique awaiting for her to be moved into surgery. Percy had just joined the family after seeing Lucy before her surgery. He sat next to his father-in-law, who had port keyed in early this morning to be here for his family. Doctor Jacques had allowed Audrey to be an observer in the surgeries. Once Lucy was moved to recovery, when her father could be with her, Audrey would join in on Dominique's procedure.

Molly and Victoire sat on the floor playing with their Uncles Ron and George. While Percy and Audrey tried to explain what was going on with Lucy and Dominique with out scaring her, Molly was a smart child and could feel the tension in the adults. She also knew that Victoire was to young to understand, and even though she would rather crawl up in her Dad's or Grandpa King's laps and cuddle until this was all over with, she knew that she needed to help protect Victoire more.

Bill stood inside the children's ward holding his wife tightly in his arms. They had just watched as the surgical staff finished their preparations and left with their daughter for surgery. Fleur who had been staunchly holding her emotions in since that first day had finally let the fear seep out when their baby was out of their sight.

"I'm sorry." Fleur said as she pulled away and wiped at her eyes with her hands.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. We have had a stressful few days and we are both terrified." Bill responded placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I know. I believe zat ziss will work, but zee fear briefly took over. I will be fine." She stated.

Bill knew that there was no use to argue with her. They would both have their release when this was all over.

"Can 'ou 'elp wiz my face. I don't want Victoire to see me upset." Fleur asked and Bill took out his wand. She felt relief as her face cooled down. "Zank 'ou."

Bill just kissed her temple and took her hand as they joined the family. Victoire rushed over to them excitedly. She then convinced her father and Uncle Percy to join in the game that they were playing.

Fleur moved over to sit next to her sister and allowed Gabrielle, Angelina and Hermione pull her into a discussion on the fifty hunkiest wizards issue of Witch Weekly.

Time seemed to go so slowly until the doctor came to tell the family that Lucy was fine and in recovery. Percy had hugged Molly in relief and noticed how scared his daughter had really been. He knew his family would watch her, but decided to take her with him to sit with Lucy. He didn't want to add to her burden of staying up beat for Victoire's sake.

When Doctor Jacques appeared a few hours later with Audrey at his side. The tension in the family members was tightly wound.

"Zee surgery was very successful. It will be a few days before we are sure zat she does not reject zee bone marrow, but we are very, very 'opeful." The doctor stated. Audrey was beaming at them in relief and the family began to cheer. Fleur and Bill once again hugged Audrey in thanks, while the rest of the family hugged and cheered in release of their tension, Hermione beginning to scribble another note to Ginny and Harry with the news. With her father at her side, Audrey left to check on her own daughter.

"I am very proud of what you did for Dominique." Her father said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"There was no choice. We had to do what ever we could to help Dominique." Audrey responded leaning into the embrace. She just prayed that the little girl the medical staff deemed as the 'little fighter' fought to keep that bone marrow in her system.

Three weeks later when the family descended upon Shell Cottage to welcome the family home. Ginny had reward their little fighter, Dominique and little hero, Lucy, by allowing them to be to first to hold their new little cousin James. Both little girls grinned for the camera with baby James draped across their laps, no sign on their faces of the trauma that had ruled their lives the last few weeks.

The End


End file.
